How Dedicated Transport Service Works | SPD - Singapore

How Dedicated Transport Service Works

14/03/2014

Dedicated transport service has been put under the spotlight recently after Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced at the Singapore Budget 2014 last month that persons with disabilities will be getting more help for their transport costs.

Under the public transport concession scheme, persons with disabilities will enjoy 25 per cent off adult fares for bus and rail travel from July this year, and will also not incur additional cost should they travel beyond 7.2km.

From October, subsidies of up to 50 per cent of taxi fares will also be given to those who are unable to take public transport or tap on dedicated transport to work or school. Those taking dedicated transport services to Special Education Schools and care services will also enjoy means-tested subsidies of up to 80 per cent of the transport cost too.

According to Ms Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Social and Family Development, at the MSF Committee of Supply debate on 13 March, she shared that the three new transport schemes will together benefit over 50,000 persons with disabilities and cost the Government $24 million a year.

Dedicated transport services are particularly important for many people with disabilities at SPD who cannot commute by bus, train or taxi for various reasons, including not being able to transfer from a wheelchair, the large size of their wheelchair or the absence of a caregiver to assist them. They rely on dedicated transport services to ferry them to our centre for care services.

Here is a look at what dedicated transport is and how such a service is essential to some of our beneficiaries.